SELECTION COMMITTEE CONVENES IN PREPARATION FOR 2017-18 SEASON

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee met this week, in preparation for the upcoming 2017 college football season.

“It was good for everyone to be together again, and we had an excellent, thorough meeting,” said Kirby Hocutt, chair of the selection committee and director of athletics at Texas Tech. “We reviewed our protocol and processes in detail. We’re all looking forward to the start of the season.”

The 13 members also went over the timing for the weekly announcements of its rankings, as well as finalizing the list of members who will be recused from participating in votes or discussions regarding selected teams.

The committee will begin to produce rankings following the ninth week of the season – the same timing as the previous three years of the CFP. Members will again meet in person, on Mondays and Tuesdays. The committee will issue its first rankings Tuesday, October 31, with subsequent rankings taking place the next five weeks. The committee will reveal its rankings each week on ESPN’s College Football Playoff: Top 25.

The committee will release its final rankings of 2017 on Selection Day, Sunday, December 3. The selection committee will also announce the Playoff Semifinal matchups, New Year’s bowl pairings, and the final Top 25 exclusively via College Football Playoff Selection Day programming on ESPN.
Below is the complete schedule for the selection committee to announce its rankings on ESPN.

*Approximate start time will be 9 p.m. from the Champions Classic basketball doubleheader at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. The rankings will be revealed live between the Duke vs. Michigan State and Kentucky vs. Kansas basketball games.

The committee’s recusal policy remains the same as previous years, which states: “A recused member shall not participate in any votes involving the team from which the individual is recused.”

“A recused member is permitted to answer only factual questions about the institution from which the member is recused, but shall not be present during any deliberations regarding that team’s selection or seeding. Recused members shall not participate in discussions regarding the placement of the recused team into a bowl game.”

“If a committee member or an immediate family member, e.g., spouse, sibling or child, (a) is compensated by a school, (b) provides professional services for a school, or (c) is on the coaching staff or administrative staff at a school or is a football student-athlete at a school, that member will be recused. Such compensation shall include not only direct employment, but also current paid consulting arrangements, deferred compensation (e.g., contract payments continuing after employment has ended) or other benefits. The committee will have the option to add other recusals if special circumstances arise.”

Recusals for the 2017-18 season are as follows:

Arkansas – Jeff Long

Central Michigan – Herb Deromedi

Clemson – Dan Radakovich

Duke – Tyrone Willingham

Georgia – Frank Beamer

Missouri – Jeff Long

Ohio State – Gene Smith

Oregon – Rob Mullens

Southern Mississippi – Jeff Bower

Stanford – Tyrone Willingham

Texas Tech – Kirby Hocutt

Virginia Tech – Frank Beamer

For additional information on the selection committee, weekly rankings, and to view the selection committee protocol in its entirety, visit www.collegefootballplayoff.com.

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About the College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 seed vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual and PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. This season’s semifinals will take place Monday, January 1, 2018, at the Rose Bowl presented by Northwestern Mutual and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The national championship game will be Monday, January 8, 2018, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.